On February 7, I sat for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam with the NSCA and passed. As I touched on in a previous post, this exam is often sought after by physical therapists and physical therapy students who are looking to improve their knowledge in sport-specific training and exercise physiology as a way to set ...

Lately I've been getting comments on my blog posts from people seeking advice about entering the PT profession, and asking how or why I became a physical therapist. The answers to both of those questions are complex. The medical environment today is significantly different from when I went to PT school 30 years ago.
I like to joke that I went to ...

I have written posts on advocacy in the past that have centered primarily on the concept of advocacy and what it can bring in the way of personal and professional growth. This weekend, however, I had the chance to attend the Florida Physical Therapy Association (FPTA) Student Conclave, and it has me fired up about the practical implications of ...

PHILADELPHIA -- When the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Annual Convention came to this country's birthplace last week, ADVANCE made sure to be on the scene. Held in conjunction with the 2015 Major League Soccer (MLS) draft, the conference is billed as ''The World's Largest Annual Gathering of Soccer Coaches,'' drawing more ...

While I was teaching last week, it dawned on me that I have a unique perspective on continuing education courses. I've been on both sides of the projector. When I teach, I'm not listening. I'm trying to remember to say everything I want to on a topic. I have set examples I use every time but no two courses are the same. If I get distracted, I ...

It has been 8 months since I started PT school and, on most days, I've been able to keep a positive, enthusiastic outlook. These past two weeks, however, have been filled with frustrations. While I'm a big believer in the move to a doctorate of physical therapy, it often seems like the curriculum has just been filled with busy work and repetitive ...

This past Monday was the start of my third semester of physical therapy school. My classes include Clinical Practicum 1, Cardiopulmonary PT, Intro to Research Methods and Data Analysis, Gerontology, Neuroanatomy, Healthcare Educator and Clinical Skills 2. Seems like a lot, right? Well so far it doesn't seem so bad! The schedule is not nearly as ...

A few weeks before the end of fall semester, one of our professors came and spoke to the class about the value of obtaining certifications during school. He cited reasons such as better job opportunities, better chances at residencies and just as a way to set yourself apart overall. Since we just completed exercise physiology, I've decided to ...

On Tuesday my class traveled to a local senior center to do a community screening. Our class of 51 was divided into groups of three students and we were assigned a patient. We weren't given any background aside from what we gathered from the patient. After completing a history, balance, strength, ROM and various other screens, we were left with a ...

This week, I found out where my first clinical rotation will be. My program begins clinical at the end of our first year, in April, at a skilled nursing facility. Mine will be in Hialeah, Fla., part of the Miami area. While I'm excited for tons of delicious coffee, I'm super nervous about the language barrier. The majority of the patients will ...